


A Smile To Die For

by carpfish



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: A3! 69 Minute Challenge, Act 8 Spoilers, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-16 01:15:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21499438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carpfish/pseuds/carpfish
Summary: Every once in a while, Citron is struck with gratitude for how precious a treasure he has come to possess at Mankai, and how handsome Guy’s face looks with a smile.Written for the Twitter A3 @ 69min challenge.
Relationships: Citron/Guy
Comments: 4
Kudos: 63





	A Smile To Die For

**Author's Note:**

> Super late entry and once again untimed, but the theme was "taking care of someone/something". I had the image of Guy smiling while taking care of the flowers in the garden, and once it entered it wouldn't leave my mind. Not much substance, just some sappy, gushy Citoguy being in love.

Citron catches sight of it from across the dorm courtyard, in the middle of hanging laundry up to dry. The season in Japan is turning from Autumn to Winter, and even in the Land of the Rising Sun, the sun sets earlier by the day. The ground is covered in a crisp coat of fallen leaves, bright red maples and golden-fan ginkgos, that is tossed and churned with every increasingly chilly breeze. It's one of these gusts that blows apart the curtain of hung-up bed sheets and reveals the sight of Guy, kneeling at one of the flowerbeds as he pots a plant of jasmine for indoor storage over the winter. Even through the gardening gloves, his hands are deft and gentle, careful not to crush any petals or tug at any roots. Citron glimpses, as if in slow-motion, the way Guy's face softens at the sight of the flower: the slight upturn of his brows, the curled corners of his lips, and most of all, the warmth that floods those green, gem-like eyes. Guy smiles at the plant like he appreciates its beauty, enjoys its fragrance, and cherishes its blooming. It's such a small, understated thing, but it does wonders to humanize a face that Citron has seen fixed in such cold, stern stasis for much of his life. It’s a smile that Citron would have never been able to imagine for much of his youth, one that he would have died to witness. 

The breeze falters and the bedsheets fall, obscuring Guy from vision once again. Citron’s heart feels tight in his chest at the sudden absence of so cherished a view. Mankai has spoiled him, allowing him so much joy and companionship and easy access to Guy’s smile in excess, any time he peeks in on Winter’s rehearsals, or passes by the dorm kitchen. But every once in a while, Citron is struck with gratitude how precious a treasure he has come to possess, and how handsome Guy’s face looks with a smile. 

Citron drops his laundry basket and crosses the courtyard in a matter of steps. Guy sets down the pot of jasmine and turns to meet him with yet another one of those soft, slight smiles, and Citron feels as though his heart has swelled to bursting. Citron drops to his knees next to Guy, not caring about lineage or fealty or if he stains his pants with soil, and Guy knows this, so does nothing to try and stop him. Without so much as a word or greeting, Citron presses his hands to Guy’s face, tracing his thumbs along the creases beneath his eyes. Every subtle emotion that fleets across Guy’s face is a miracle to behold: a flash of surprise in his widened eyes, a bare trace of confusion, and then the slow seep of mirth that makes its way into his voice when he speaks. 

“Citronia? What are you doing?” When Guy speaks while smiling, his voice curves at the edges as well. This is only a recent discovery- one that Citron adores more with every time he hears it. 

Citron shushes him and removes the gardening gloves from Guy’s hands. Once they’re off, Citron raises Guy’s hands to his face and takes a deep breath. They smell like rubber and sweat, grass and dirt, and the faintest notes of aromatic oils and Zahran spices that must be either from Azuma or the kitchen. All warm, earthy, human scents, to go with the sun-roughed human skin. Unlike Guy himself, Citron had always been convinced of his retainer’s humanity, despite a fondness for pushing the man’s buttons. But even so, such closeness and intimacy of touch between a liege and his monarch would be unthinkable back in Zahra. 

“The flowers are beautiful, don’t you think?” Citron murmurs absentmindedly. He nearly jumps in shock when Guy’s hands move forward to cup Citron’s cheeks, in an echo of Citron’s earlier caress. 

“Yes,” Guy replies simply. “I understand now.” 

The season in Japan is turning from Autumn to Winter and the winds grow ever colder, but Guy’s words are like a balmy spring breeze to Citron’s heart. Citron feels his own face pulling wide into a smile radiant enough to match Guy’s, and makes a request. Not as a king or prince, but as a simple actor here in Mankai. 

“Guy, I’m going to kiss you now.” 

Citron feels Guy’s face shift beneath his hands as his smile only grows. “I beg your pardon, Citronia,” he says. “But I think I will be kissing you instead.” 

A particularly strong gust sends one of Citron’s bed sheets flying off the line and across the courtyard. But by that point, neither him nor Guy can be bothered to care. 


End file.
